Death toll rises as rescue teams lift tourist boat from the river after Danube collision

Hungarian police have confirmed the identity of four more victims from a collision on the Danube River, two weeks ago.

The death toll is now at 24 after a Viking River Cruises ship, the Viking Sigyn, collided with a local tourist boat, the Mermaid. Among the dead are 22 South Korean tourists and two Hungarian crew members.

Four South Koreans remain missing since the May 29 crash and seven were rescued on the night. The four people identified on Wednesday, a day after the Mermaid was raised out of the river with a floating crane, included the boat’s captain as well as the only child victim of the collision – a six-year-old South Korean girl.

The recovery efforts have been hampered by high water levels on the Danube and it hasn’t been until this week, that rescue teams and divers have been able to raise the ship.

Footage from the scene showed the cabin and upper deck of the boat emerge from the water, while divers carry out a search for victims trapped inside.

Another four people are believed to be still missing and after the ship was raised, a police spokesman said search efforts would be doubled to find the remaining victims.

Meanwhile, the Viking Sigyn’s captain named as a 64-year-old Ukrainian national, Yuriy C, was detained on suspicion of reckless misconduct in waterborne traffic leading to mass casualties. His lawyer says that the captain is devastated but maintains he has done nothing wrong.

The captain, who has been under arrest since June 1, is to be released on bail under certain conditions.

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